Apparatus for supporting sheet materials in bending presses

ABSTRACT

FOR USE WITH PRESS-BRAKES OR SHEET METAL BENDING PRESSES, AN APPARATUS COMPRISING AT LEAST ONE MECHANISM BENT, WHICH MEMBER IS ROTATABLY AND SLIDABLY SUPPORTED BY A FIRST LINK MEMBER PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON A TABLE OF THE PRESS-BRAKE, AND FURTHER PIVOTALLY SUPPORTED BY A SECOND LINK MEMBER WHICH IS ALSO ROTATABLY SUPPORTED BY THE FIRST LINK MEMBER, THE ROTATIONAL MOVEMENT OF THE SECOND LINK MEMBER RELATIVE TO THE FIRST LINK MEMBER BEING REGULATED BY A GEARED ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN THE SECOND LINK MEMBER AND THE PRESS-BRAKE TABLE IN SUCH A WAY THAT THE SUPPORTING MEMBER IS AT ALL TIMES IN CONTIGUOUS CONTACT WITH THE SHEET MATERIALS BEING BENT. THE DESCRIBED MECHANISM IS USUALLY PROVIDED ON BOTH SIDES OF THE SUPPORTING MEMBER IS SUBSTANTIALLY SYMMETRICAL ARRANGEMENT.

Feb. 13, 1973 TERUMA HAMADA 3,715,907

APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTING SHEET MATERIALS IN BENDING PRESSES Filed Oct.26. 1970 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG-1 Feb. 13, 1973 TERUMA HAMADA 3,715,907

APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTING SHEET MATERIALS IN SENDING PRESSES 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 26. 1970 FIG-3 FlG o United States Patent U.S.Cl. 72-419 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE For use with press-brakesor sheet-metal bending presses, an apparatus comprising at least onemechanism including a member for supporting sheet materials to be bent,which member is rotatably and slidably supported by a first link memberpivotally mounted on a table of the press-brake, and further pivotallysupported by a second link member which is also rotatably supported bythe first link member, the rotational movement of the second link memberrelative to the first link member being regulated by a geared engagementbetween the second link member and the press-brake table in such a waythat the supporting member is at all times in contiguous contact withthe sheet materials being bent. The described mechanism is usuallyprovided on both sides of the supporting member in a substantiallysymmetrical arrangement.

This invention relates generally to an apparatus for supportingsheet-metal type materials to be bent by a pressbrake or bending press,and more particularly to improved means for supporting sheet materialsbeing bent, with the supporting surface of said means always in fiatcontact with the material during the bending operation.

Conventional sheet supporting devices for press-brakes have generallyproven unsatisfactory for handling materials of heavy weight becausethey are unable to keep a surface-to-surface contact between thesupporting surface or member and the materials during the bendingoperation.

It is the main object of the present invention to provide an improvedsheet-material supporting apparatus which is capable of handlingheavy-weight materials, e.g. metals, by keeping a surface-to-surfacesupport substantially throughout the bending operation.

The objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome more apparent as the description proceeds by reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 shows a conventional sheet-metalsupporting device for press-brakes or bending presses;

FIG. 2 is a front view of an exemplary embodiment of an apparatus forsupporting sheet materials in pressbrakes, according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a partial enlarged front view of the apparatus shown in FIG.2; and

FIG. 4 is a plan view of FIG. 3.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a conventional device having asheet supporting member 3 pivotally mounted on a table 7' of apress-brake or sheet-metal bending press. A hydraulic cylinder 1functions to pivot supporting member 3 toward a position shown at A, tosupport a sheet material to be bent by upper and lower bending dies 31.A vertically reciprocable bending tool is schematically shown inoperative connection with the upper die.

Since space is too limited to have the pivot of the supporting member 3'at a location adjacent the shoulder of lower bending die 31', it is notpossible to keep a sur- Patented Feb. 13, 1973 face-to-surface contactbetween the materials and supporting member 3 during the bendingoperation.

The above difficulty has been overcome by the apparatus according to thepresent invention. Referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, a hydraulic cylinder 1functions vertically to reciprocate a pivotable supporting member 3. Forthe sake of clarity, cylinder 1 has been omitted from FIG. 3. A bracket5 is fixed to a table 7 of a press-brake or bending press by anyconventional means. A lower bending die is shown at 31 above table 7. Alink member 13 is pivotally connected with one of its ends to bracket 5,e.g. by a shaft 9 passing through the latter. Link member 13 is providedwith a slot or opening 19 at a location spaced from its pivoted end,close to its free end.

Slot 19 is adapted to slidably and rotatably support therethrough asleeve roller 17, rotatably mounted on the free or distal end of a shaft18 projecting from a block member 25, the latter being secured (e.g.welded) to supporting member 3. The position of shaft 18 relative toblock member 25 is adjustable along slot 19 by means of a set-screw 27.It will be clear to those skilled in the art that a slidable andpivotable linking means is constituted between supporting member 3 andthe first-named link member 13 by the just described elements 17, 18,19, 25 and 27 (see FIGS. 3 and 4).

A fixed pinion geared sector 11 is fixed to shaft 9. A second linkmember 21 is provided at one end with a geared sector 22 which mesheswith sector 11. These sectors together constitute a geared engagementbetween table 7 (or its bracket 5) and second link member 21. The latteris further pivotally connected to first link member 13 by a shaft 15 ata location spaced from sector 22. The other end of second link member 21is pivotally connected to one end of supporting member 3, e.g. by way ofa shaft 23.

In the initial position, before the bending operation, supporting member3 has its upper supporting surface 29 (with conventional supportprotuberances, omitted in FIG. 4) at the same level as that of theshoulder of lower die 31. The axes of shafts 9, 15, 23 and of roller 17(the point of engagement of the afore-mentioned linking means) are allon a horizontal line parallel to supporting surface 29.

It should be understod that the preferred apparatus is usuallysymmetrically designed, and substantially the same mechanism asdescribed above is provided on the opposite side of the supportingmember, as can readily be visualized in FIG. 4 (press-brake table 7 andmember 3 being broken away as they extend toward the top of thedrawing).

The function of the present invention shall now be described. As thebending operation proceeds, supporting member 3 is raised by cylinder 1to a position, for example, shown in broken lines in FIG. 3. First linkmember 13 is rotated about shaft 9 together with second link member 21,but at the same time, the latter is rotated relative to first member 13by the engagement between its geared sector 22 and fixed sector 11 ofshaft 9.

Shafts 15, 23 will thus take new positions as shown at 15a, and 23a,respectively, off the center line of link member 13, as shown in FIG. 3.Roller 17 changes its position relative to first member 13, slidingalong slot 19, as shown at 17a.

Thus it will be understood that by raising supporting member 3, uppersurface 29 thereof is tilted relative to first link member 13, as shownat 29a, and the amount of tilting is dependent on the distance betweenthe pivotal end (at shaft 23) of member 3 and roller 17. By properlypre-setting the position of the latter, by means of set-screw 27, theaforementioned line connecting shaft 23 and roller 17, and accordinglyupper surface 29, 29a of member 3, will always be parallel to the sheetmaterials being bent.

In view of the foregoing, it will be apparent that by the presentinvention, although pivotal axis 9 is spaced away from the shoulder ofdie 31, supporting member 3 makes a combined pivoting and tiltingmotion, to keep its upper surface 29 always in surface-to-surfacecontact with the sheet materials during the bending operation.

It is the intention of applicant to cover all changes and modificationsof the described exemplary embodiment of the invention, herein chosenfor the purpose of illustrating the same, which do not depart from thespirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for supporting sheet materials in bending presses,comprising, in combination, at least one mechanism including a firstlink member pivotally supported at its one end by a table of a bendingpress; a second link member pivotally supported by said first linkmember; geared engagement means operatively interconnecting said tableand said second link member; a first shaft mounted on one end of saidsecond link member; a material supporting member pivotally secured withits one end to said first shaft; means for slidably and pivotallylinking said supporting member to said first link member at a pointspaced from its said one end; and means, constituted by portions of saidfirst and said second link members and of said supporting member, forvarying the distance between the respective pivot points of said one endof the second link member and said one end of the supporting memberabout said first shaft, on the one hand, and of said supporting memberabout said point of the first link member, on the other hand, by acombined pivoting and tilting movement of said supporting member whensaid geared engagement means is actuated, whereby the upper surface ofsaid supporting member is maintained at all times in contiguous contactwith the sheet materials being bent.

2. The supporting apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said linkingmeans includes a substantially axial slot in the free end of said firstlink member and a roller associated with said supporting member, saidroller being slidably and rotatably received by said slot.

3. An apparatus for supporting sheet materials in bending presses,comprising, in combination, at least one mechanism including a firstlink member pivotally sup ported at its one end by a table of a bendingpress; a second link member pivotally supported by said first linkmember; geared engagement means operatively interconnecting said tableand said second link member; a. first shaft mounted on one end of saidsecond link member; a material supporting member pivotally secured withits one end to said first shaft; and means for slidably and pivotallylinking said supporting member to said first link member at a pointspaced from its said one end, whereby the upper surface of saidsupporting member is maintained at all times in contiguous contact withthe sheet materials being bent, wherein said linking means includes asubstantially axial slot in the free end of said first link member and aroller associated with said supporting member, said roller beingslidably and rotatably received by said slot, and wherein said linkingmeans further includes a block member secured to said supporting memberin the region of said slot, and a second shaft projecting from saidbloc-k member, said roller being rotatably mounted on the free end ofsaid second shaft.

4. The supporting apparatus as defined in claim 3, further comprisingmeans for adjusting the relative position of said second shaft and saidblock member along at least part of the axis of said slot.

5. An apparatus for supporting sheet materials in bending presses,comprising, in combination, at least one mechanism including a firstlink member pivotally supported at its one end by a table of a bendingpress; a second link member pivotally supported by said first linkmember; geared engagement means operatively interconnecting said tableand said second link member; a

first shaft mounted on one end of said second link mem ber; a materialsupporting member pivotally secured with its one end to said firstshaft; means for slidably and pivotally linking said supporting memberto said first link member at a point spaced from its said one end,whereby the upper surface of said supporting member is maintained at alltimes in contiguous contact with the sheet materials being bent, andanother shaft between said table and said first link member, and whereinsaid geared engagement means includes a first geared sector fixed to theother end of said second link member and a meshing second geared sectorfixed to said other shaft.

6. The supporting apparatus as defined in claim 5, further comprising atleast one bracket fixed to said table, each for supporting a respectivemechanism with said first link member and said second sector by theintermediary of said other shaft, which latter is fixed to said bracket.

7. The supporting apparatus as defined inclaim 5, wherein the axesofsaid first and said other shafts, as well as a pivot point between saidlink members and a point of engagement in said linking means are all ona common line substantially parallel to said upper surface of thesupporting member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,695,015 11/1954 Cooper 2695'5 X2,951,379 9/1960 Longfield 72386 X CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary ExaminerR. M. ROGERS, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

